[IMAGECAPTION] All photos by Just Chasing Rabbits [/IMAGECAPTION]
Unique or specialty museums are quite often my favorites. Seattle's EMP Museum is no exception. EMP stands for the "Experience Music Project," which the museum provides quite well with instruments to try, a recording booth and a whole exhibit dedicated to guitars. My favorite aspect of the museum is its pop culture exhibits.
I love seeing props, costumes, and filming locations of movies and TV shows. I love theme parks and memorabilia that bring my favorite fictional worlds to life. I could not wait to see the pop culture exhibits at EMP. If you're a pop culture nerd like me, then definitely head straight to the second floor of the museum!
We began our tour at "Can't Look Away," EMP's exhibit showcasing horror films. I was surprised at just how many horror movies I've seen in my lifetime...and here I was thinking I'm a coward!
I did practice my scream in the Scream Booth though. It took my photo and emailed it to me. It was quite a liberating experience, and I do recommend!
PHOTO: In the Scream Booth!
Some of our favorite horror items on display at the EMP Museum:
PHOTO: "You've got red on you!" Shaun (Simon Pegg)'s shirt from "Shaun of the Dead."
PHOTO: Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus)'s ear necklace from "The Walking Dead."
PHOTO: Gizmo from "Gremlins."
Leaving horror behind, we entered the world of fantasy. I expected "Harry Potter" and "Lord of the Rings," but was soooo pumped to see costumes from "The Wizard of Oz"!
Previously, we have only seen Dorothy's ruby slippers at the Smithsonian in DC, so to see the hat of the Wicked Witch of the West and the lion pelts that actually adorned Bert Lahr as the Cowardly Lion was really special!
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Besides Sirius Black's cloak, there was one other "Harry Potter" item that we got a kick out of. A seemingly empty display case was labeled, "Invisibility Cloak." Hilarious!
PHOTO: The sword known as "Sting" from "The Hobbit."
PHOTO: Costumes from "The Princess Bride."
PHOTO: The Cowardly Lion costume (and others) from "The Wizard of Oz."
PHOTO: The Faun's head from "Pan's Labyrinth."
After fantasy, we entered the world of science fiction. You should have seen my face when I realized the "skateboards" on display were the actual prop hoverboards from "Back to the Future"! To me, pop culture is total nostalgia, so seeing items from movies from my childhood is almost magical.
A wall of weapons/guns from various science fiction movies from all eras was on display. It was amazing to see the details in some of them. I'd swear that some of them actually work. Some of the most recognizable, for me, were from "Men in Black."
PHOTO: Hoverboards from "Back to the Future."
PHOTO: Dalek from "Dr. Who."
PHOTO: Proton Pack from "Ghostbusters."
PHOTO: Greedo from "Star Wars."
The EMP Museum is also home to exhibits about Seattle's own Nirvana and Jimi Hendrix, has tons of opportunities to learn about music, and interesting temporary exhibits like "The Supercute World of Hello Kitty."
We highly recommend this unique museum. It has something for everyone!
Have you visited the EMP Museum? What exhibit do you think would be your favorite? Have you seen any other amazing pop culture exhibits? Let us know in the comments below!
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